Chapter 15 – Section 3  Terms to Know:  1. Subversion = to secretly weaken a society and overthrow the govt. ( we feared that subversive elements might lead to a communist takeover)  2. Perjury = lying under oath (He was convicted of perjury)  3. Censure = formal disapproval (the Senate censured a member)

Return of “Red” fear!  After WW II, our dislike and fear of communism returned and grew.  WHY were we so scared?  1. The SU – their takeover of Eastern Europe and their desire to spread communism all over the world  2. There had always been a small communist party in the US – now we thought they were secretly recruiting and selling our secrets to the SU

So you might be a commie if..  With this new “paranoia” about possible subversive elements in our midst – people began to question certain behaviors:  1. If you had previously joined the Communist Party (even if you quit) that looked suspicious  2. IF you read certain books, watched foreign movies, traveled a lot to foreign countries, belonged to groups that seemed “disloyal”

The government and Communists  FELP ( Federal Employee Loyalty Program) – this was started to make sure govt. employees were not possible “spies”.  From : 6 million Fed. Employees were “screened” by the FBI  2000 quit their jobs.  212 were fired.

HUAC  HUAC (House Un American Activities Committee) was started in 1938 (checking for Nazis and Fascists)  By 1947 – this committee was very active and started to hold public hearings of suspicious individuals.  J Edgar Hoover (head of the FBI) encouraged this search for communists.

Investigating Hollywood  HUAC investigated the Motion Picture Industry – what if they were spreading communists ideas and recruiting through the movies?????  Many people were called to testify and were expected to “name names” if they knew anyone who was OR HAD been a communist.

Results  The Hollywood Ten were ten screenwriters who refused to testify at these hearings.  They were all fined, sentenced to one year in jail and BLACKLISTED until the 1960’s.  Ultimately, 151 actors, writers etc…were blacklisted. Many careers were ruined – or interrupted.

Spy Hunting at Home…  The govt. and the general public were afraid Soviet spies or Americans working for the Soviet were giving or selling our atomic or govt. secrets.  Alger Hiss – state dept. official was accused of being a communist and a spy  He denied both – but A young congressman (Nixon) kept pushing.  Evidence surfaced that proved Hiss had been a communist – he was convicted of perjury.

Julius and Ethel Rosenberg  A New York couple (Former communists) were accused of giving nuclear secrets to the Russians  They were tried and convicted – and executed by  Many felt they were not guilty but were scapegoats.  Information revealed in 1995 showed strong evidence of the Rosenberg’s guilt.

Joseph McCarthy  Joseph McCarthy was a senator from Wisconsin. In1950 he claimed to have a “list” of 205 people who…”are members of the communist party and are working for the State Dept.”  This “list” was never produced but people got very upset and McCarthy continued to accuse people without proof.

The McCarthy Hearings  Starting in 1952, Congress held hearings to question govt. officials about communists in govt.  McCarthy didn’t have proof but he argued and badgered witnesses (on TV) to the point where they seemed guilty.  People were afraid to stand up to McCarthy because they thought they would be his next target.

McCarthy and the Army  By 1954, McCarthy had started to investigate the army – his tactics were starting to be seen as bullying and cruel.  One army lawyer stood up to McCarthy, “Have you no sense of decency?”  After that – people saw McCarthy as a fake and the witch hunt stopped. The Senate censured him that year and he died of alcoholism in 1957.